Section 21 Notices

From the 1 October 2018 changes to the Section 21 Notice came into force for letting agents and landlords in England. This will require all Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), regardless of their start date, to comply with new guidelines as to when and how a landlord can serve a Section 21 Notice, which enables them to terminate a tenancy agreement.

When issuing a Section 21 Notice, landlords and agents will now be required to use Form 6A. The form, prescribed by Government, combines the two previous types of Notices into a single Notice for both periodic and fixed-term tenancies.

In addition, under the Deregulation Act 2015, landlords and agents wishing to issue their tenants with a Section 21 (Form 6A) Notice should:

Ensure the tenants have had a copy of the How To Rent guide: the checklist for renting in England;

Make sure the property has an up to date Gas Safety Record and the tenants have been given a copy;

Provide the tenants with a copy of the property’s Energy Performance Certificate (except when the property isn’t required to have one);

Inform tenants which scheme their deposit is protected with and provide the certificate of registration and any prescribed information;

Where the property is licensed, provide a copy of the licence to all the tenants.